Generator

Server.properties Generator

Every setting in a Java server's server.properties, with what it does and the default your version's own server writes. Change what you need, then copy or download the file. Java Edition 1.17 to 26.3.

Start from

Load the file your server already has, or a preset. Everything stays editable.

Server basics

Who can join, how many, and the default game mode and difficulty.

Message of the daymotd

The text under the server name in the multiplayer list. Use the MOTD Generator for colors and two lines. Open the MOTD Generator.

Default: A Minecraft Server

Max playersmax-players

How many players can be online at once. Operators cannot join a full server either, unless ops.json lets them bypass the limit.

Default: 20

Online modeonline-mode

Checks every player against Mojang's account servers. Turn it off only behind a proxy that checks accounts itself: without it anyone can join under any name.

Default: true

Whitelistwhite-list

Only players in whitelist.json can join. Operators can always join.

Default: true

Enforce whitelistenforce-whitelist

Kicks online players who are not on the whitelist when it is reloaded. Has no effect unless the whitelist is on.

Default: false

Difficultydifficulty

The world's difficulty. Old number values (0 to 3) are still read and turned into these names.

Default: easy

Default game modegamemode

The game mode new players start in.

Default: survival

Force game modeforce-gamemode

Puts players back in the default game mode every time they join, instead of the mode they left in.

Default: false

Hardcorehardcore

Locks the difficulty to Hard, and players who die become spectators.

Default: false

World

Used when the world is first created. Changing them later does not regenerate existing chunks.

World namelevel-name

The world folder the server loads, or creates if it is missing.

Default: world

Seedlevel-seed

The seed for a new world. Leave it empty for a random one.

Default: (empty)

World typelevel-type

The world preset for a new world.

Default: minecraft:normal

Generator settingsgenerator-settings

JSON settings for the flat and single-biome world types. Leave as it is for a normal world.

Default: {}

Generate structuresgenerate-structures

Villages, temples and other structures in new chunks. Dungeons still generate when it is off.

Default: true

Max world sizemax-world-size

The largest radius, in blocks, the world border can be set to.

Default: 29999984

Spawn protectionspawn-protection

Non-operators cannot build within this many blocks of spawn (a square 2 × this + 1 wide). 0 turns it off. It only applies while the server has at least one operator.

Default: 16

Players and chat

Permissions, idle kicks, chat signing and what the server announces.

Allow flightallow-flight

Stops the server kicking Survival players who hover for over 5 seconds. Turn it on if players use flight mods or plugins. Creative flying is never affected.

Default: false

Operator permission levelop-permission-level

What /op gives: 1 bypasses spawn protection, 2 adds cheat commands and command blocks, 3 adds player management (kick, ban, op), 4 adds server management (stop, save).

Default: 4

Function permission levelfunction-permission-level

The permission level functions in data packs run with.

Default: 2

Idle kick (minutes)player-idle-timeout

Kicks players who have not moved for this many minutes. 0 never kicks.

Default: 0

Require signed chatenforce-secure-profileNew in 1.19

Players need a Mojang-signed chat key to join. Turn it off only if players without one (some launchers) cannot get in.

Default: true

Hide online playershide-online-playersNew in 1.18

Leaves the player list out of the server list status, so nobody can see who is online.

Default: false

Block proxy connectionsprevent-proxy-connections

Kicks players whose connection comes from a different network than the one Mojang's login saw (a VPN or proxy).

Default: false

Log IP addresseslog-ipsNew in 1.20.2

Writes players' IP addresses to the log when they join.

Default: true

Show console commands to opsbroadcast-console-to-ops

Online operators see the output of commands typed in the console.

Default: true

Show RCON commands to opsbroadcast-rcon-to-ops

Online operators see the output of commands sent over RCON.

Default: true

Text filtering configtext-filtering-configNew in 1.16.4

Settings for an external chat filter service. Used by Mojang's Realms; leave empty.

Default: (empty)

Text filtering versiontext-filtering-versionNew in 1.21.2

Which version of the external chat filter service the server talks to. Only matters with a text filtering config; leave it at 0.

Default: 0

Accept transfersaccepts-transfersNew in 1.20.5

Lets another server send players here with /transfer.

Default: false

Bug report linkbug-report-linkNew in 1.21

A web page where players can report bugs on your server. The server sends it to players, who can open it from the game.

Default: (empty)

Code of conductenable-code-of-conductNew in 1.21.9

Shows players a code of conduct to accept when they join, from text files in a codeofconduct folder beside server.properties, named by language (en_us.txt).

Default: false

Chat spam threshold (s)chat-spam-threshold-secondsNew in 26.2

Kicks a player who sends chat messages faster than this allows. 0 turns the chat spam kick off.

Default: 10

Command spam threshold (s)command-spam-threshold-secondsNew in 26.2

The same for commands typed by players. 0 turns the command spam kick off.

Default: 10

Performance

How far the server loads and simulates, and how it saves and sends data.

View distanceview-distance

How many chunks around each player the server sends, as a radius. Lower is lighter on the server.

Default: 10

Simulation distancesimulation-distanceNew in 1.18

How many chunks around each player keep ticking: mobs move, crops grow, redstone runs. Lower is lighter on the server.

Default: 10

Entity range (%)entity-broadcast-range-percentage

How far away entities are sent to players, as a percentage of the normal distance. Higher shows mobs from further off but costs more.

Default: 100

Watchdog (ms)max-tick-time

If one tick takes longer than this, the server decides it has frozen and stops. -1 turns the watchdog off.

Default: 60000

Compression thresholdnetwork-compression-threshold

Packets this many bytes or larger are compressed. -1 turns compression off, 0 compresses everything.

Default: 256

Packet rate limitrate-limitNew in 1.16.2

Kicks a player who sends more packets than this per second. 0 turns the limit off.

Default: 0

Synchronous chunk writessync-chunk-writes

Waits for each chunk to be written to disk. Safer if the server crashes; turning it off can speed up saving.

Default: true

Native transportuse-native-transport

Uses Linux's faster network code when the server runs on Linux.

Default: true

Max chained block updatesmax-chained-neighbor-updatesNew in 1.19

Limits how many block updates can chain in a row before the rest are skipped. A negative number removes the limit.

Default: 1000000

JMX monitoringenable-jmx-monitoring

Publishes tick times for Java monitoring tools (JMX). Also needs JVM flags.

Default: false

Region file compressionregion-file-compressionNew in 1.20.5

How newly saved chunks are compressed. Changing it does not recompress chunks already saved.

Default: deflate

Pause when empty (seconds)pause-when-empty-secondsNew in 1.21.2

Pauses the world once nobody has been online for this many seconds, so an empty server uses almost no CPU. 0 or less never pauses.

Default: 60

Resource pack and data packs

A pack players download on join, and the data packs a new world starts with.

Data packs oninitial-enabled-packsNew in 1.19.3

Data packs a NEW world starts with, comma separated. Experimental feature packs must be listed here to be on.

Default: vanilla

Data packs offinitial-disabled-packsNew in 1.19.3

Data packs a NEW world does not turn on automatically, comma separated.

Default: (empty)

Resource pack URLresource-pack

A direct download link to a .zip players are offered on join.

Default: (empty)

Resource pack SHA-1resource-pack-sha1

The SHA-1 hash of the .zip, lowercase hex. Lets players reuse a cached copy and catches a wrong download.

Default: (empty)

Require the resource packrequire-resource-packNew in 1.17

Players who decline the pack are disconnected.

Default: false

Resource pack promptresource-pack-promptNew in 1.17

A custom message on the download prompt, as a JSON text component.

Default: (empty)

Resource pack IDresource-pack-idNew in 1.20.3

A UUID that names the pack, so players keep one cached copy across URL changes. Left empty, it is made from the URL.

Default: (empty)

Network and remote access

Ports, RCON, query and status replies.

Server portserver-port

The port players connect to. Forward it on your router if you host from home.

Default: 25565

Bind addressserver-ip

Listen on one IP address only. Leave it empty unless you know you need it.

Default: (empty)

Reply to the server listenable-status

When off, the server shows as offline in the multiplayer list but players can still join.

Default: true

Queryenable-query

Answers GameSpy4 query requests (player lists for server sites and bots).

Default: false

Query portquery.port

The UDP port for query.

Default: 25565

RCONenable-rcon

Remote console: run commands from another program. It is not encrypted, so never open its port to the internet.

Default: false

RCON portrcon.port

The TCP port for RCON.

Default: 25575

RCON passwordrcon.password

RCON does not start without one.

Default: (empty)

Management server

The server management protocol for remote tools. Off by default.

Status heartbeatstatus-heartbeat-intervalNew in 1.21.9

How often the management server sends connected tools a status notification. 0 sends none.

Default: 0

Management servermanagement-server-enabledNew in 1.21.9

Starts the server management protocol (JSON-RPC over WebSocket) for remote admin tools.

Default: false

Management hostmanagement-server-hostNew in 1.21.9

The address it listens on. Keep localhost unless a tool on another machine needs it.

Default: localhost

Management portmanagement-server-portNew in 1.21.9

Its port. 0 picks a free port each time the server starts.

Default: 0

Management secretmanagement-server-secretNew in 1.21.9

The token tools sign in with: exactly 40 letters and digits. Left out, the server makes a random one and writes it to the file. Any other value stops the server starting while the management server is on.

Default: made by the server

Management TLSmanagement-server-tls-enabledNew in 1.21.9

Encrypts the connection. The server will not start with TLS on and no keystore.

Default: true

TLS keystoremanagement-server-tls-keystoreNew in 1.21.9

Path to a PKCS12 keystore with the TLS certificate.

Default: (empty)

TLS keystore passwordmanagement-server-tls-keystore-passwordNew in 1.21.9

The keystore's password. The environment variable MINECRAFT_MANAGEMENT_TLS_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD wins over this if set.

Default: (empty)

Allowed browser originsmanagement-server-allowed-originsNew in 1.21.11

Web pages allowed to sign in from a browser, comma separated. Empty blocks browser sign-in.

Default: (empty)

Your server.properties

#Minecraft server properties
#Made with mcworldtools.com for Java Edition 26.3
accepts-transfers=false
allow-flight=false
broadcast-console-to-ops=true
broadcast-rcon-to-ops=true
bug-report-link=
chat-spam-threshold-seconds=10
command-spam-threshold-seconds=10
difficulty=easy
enable-code-of-conduct=false
enable-jmx-monitoring=false
enable-query=false
enable-rcon=false
enable-status=true
enforce-secure-profile=true
enforce-whitelist=false
entity-broadcast-range-percentage=100
force-gamemode=false
function-permission-level=2
gamemode=survival
generate-structures=true
generator-settings={}
hardcore=false
hide-online-players=false
initial-disabled-packs=
initial-enabled-packs=vanilla
level-name=world
level-seed=
level-type=minecraft\:normal
log-ips=true
management-server-allowed-origins=
management-server-enabled=false
management-server-host=localhost
management-server-port=0
#management-server-secret is left out: the server makes a random one when it starts
management-server-tls-enabled=true
management-server-tls-keystore=
management-server-tls-keystore-password=
max-chained-neighbor-updates=1000000
max-players=20
max-tick-time=60000
max-world-size=29999984
motd=A Minecraft Server
network-compression-threshold=256
online-mode=true
op-permission-level=4
pause-when-empty-seconds=60
player-idle-timeout=0
prevent-proxy-connections=false
query.port=25565
rate-limit=0
rcon.password=
rcon.port=25575
region-file-compression=deflate
require-resource-pack=false
resource-pack=
resource-pack-id=
resource-pack-prompt=
resource-pack-sha1=
server-ip=
server-port=25565
simulation-distance=10
spawn-protection=16
status-heartbeat-interval=0
sync-chunk-writes=true
text-filtering-config=
text-filtering-version=0
use-native-transport=true
view-distance=10
white-list=true

How to use it

Stop the server.
Replace server.properties in the server folder (next to the server .jar) with this file.
Start the server. It reads the file once at startup and adds any setting the file leaves out.

World settings (seed, world type, structures) only apply when the world is first made. To check the server is up, use the Server Status Checker.

Every server.properties setting in Java 26.3

The default is what the 26.3 server itself writes to a new file.

Server basics

Key	Default	What it does
motd	A Minecraft Server	The text under the server name in the multiplayer list. Use the MOTD Generator for colors and two lines.
max-players	20	How many players can be online at once. Operators cannot join a full server either, unless ops.json lets them bypass the limit.
online-mode	true	Checks every player against Mojang's account servers. Turn it off only behind a proxy that checks accounts itself: without it anyone can join under any name.
white-list	true	Only players in whitelist.json can join. Operators can always join.
enforce-whitelist	false	Kicks online players who are not on the whitelist when it is reloaded. Has no effect unless the whitelist is on.
difficulty	easy	The world's difficulty. Old number values (0 to 3) are still read and turned into these names.
gamemode	survival	The game mode new players start in.
force-gamemode	false	Puts players back in the default game mode every time they join, instead of the mode they left in.
hardcore	false	Locks the difficulty to Hard, and players who die become spectators.

World

Key	Default	What it does
level-name	world	The world folder the server loads, or creates if it is missing.
level-seed	(empty)	The seed for a new world. Leave it empty for a random one.
level-type	minecraft:normal	The world preset for a new world.
generator-settings	{}	JSON settings for the flat and single-biome world types. Leave as it is for a normal world.
generate-structures	true	Villages, temples and other structures in new chunks. Dungeons still generate when it is off.
max-world-size	29999984	The largest radius, in blocks, the world border can be set to.
spawn-protection	16	Non-operators cannot build within this many blocks of spawn (a square 2 × this + 1 wide). 0 turns it off. It only applies while the server has at least one operator.

Players and chat

Key	Default	What it does
allow-flight	false	Stops the server kicking Survival players who hover for over 5 seconds. Turn it on if players use flight mods or plugins. Creative flying is never affected.
op-permission-level	4	What /op gives: 1 bypasses spawn protection, 2 adds cheat commands and command blocks, 3 adds player management (kick, ban, op), 4 adds server management (stop, save).
function-permission-level	2	The permission level functions in data packs run with.
player-idle-timeout	0	Kicks players who have not moved for this many minutes. 0 never kicks.
enforce-secure-profile	true	Players need a Mojang-signed chat key to join. Turn it off only if players without one (some launchers) cannot get in. Added in 1.19.
hide-online-players	false	Leaves the player list out of the server list status, so nobody can see who is online. Added in 1.18.
prevent-proxy-connections	false	Kicks players whose connection comes from a different network than the one Mojang's login saw (a VPN or proxy).
log-ips	true	Writes players' IP addresses to the log when they join. Added in 1.20.2.
broadcast-console-to-ops	true	Online operators see the output of commands typed in the console.
broadcast-rcon-to-ops	true	Online operators see the output of commands sent over RCON.
text-filtering-config	(empty)	Settings for an external chat filter service. Used by Mojang's Realms; leave empty. Added in 1.16.4.
text-filtering-version	0	Which version of the external chat filter service the server talks to. Only matters with a text filtering config; leave it at 0. Added in 1.21.2.
accepts-transfers	false	Lets another server send players here with /transfer. Added in 1.20.5.
bug-report-link	(empty)	A web page where players can report bugs on your server. The server sends it to players, who can open it from the game. Added in 1.21.
enable-code-of-conduct	false	Shows players a code of conduct to accept when they join, from text files in a codeofconduct folder beside server.properties, named by language (en_us.txt). Added in 1.21.9.
chat-spam-threshold-seconds	10	Kicks a player who sends chat messages faster than this allows. 0 turns the chat spam kick off. Added in 26.2.
command-spam-threshold-seconds	10	The same for commands typed by players. 0 turns the command spam kick off. Added in 26.2.

Performance

Key	Default	What it does
view-distance	10	How many chunks around each player the server sends, as a radius. Lower is lighter on the server.
simulation-distance	10	How many chunks around each player keep ticking: mobs move, crops grow, redstone runs. Lower is lighter on the server. Added in 1.18.
entity-broadcast-range-percentage	100	How far away entities are sent to players, as a percentage of the normal distance. Higher shows mobs from further off but costs more.
max-tick-time	60000	If one tick takes longer than this, the server decides it has frozen and stops. -1 turns the watchdog off.
network-compression-threshold	256	Packets this many bytes or larger are compressed. -1 turns compression off, 0 compresses everything.
rate-limit	0	Kicks a player who sends more packets than this per second. 0 turns the limit off. Added in 1.16.2.
sync-chunk-writes	true	Waits for each chunk to be written to disk. Safer if the server crashes; turning it off can speed up saving.
use-native-transport	true	Uses Linux's faster network code when the server runs on Linux.
max-chained-neighbor-updates	1000000	Limits how many block updates can chain in a row before the rest are skipped. A negative number removes the limit. Added in 1.19.
enable-jmx-monitoring	false	Publishes tick times for Java monitoring tools (JMX). Also needs JVM flags.
region-file-compression	deflate	How newly saved chunks are compressed. Changing it does not recompress chunks already saved. Added in 1.20.5.
pause-when-empty-seconds	60	Pauses the world once nobody has been online for this many seconds, so an empty server uses almost no CPU. 0 or less never pauses. Added in 1.21.2.

Resource pack and data packs

Key	Default	What it does
initial-enabled-packs	vanilla	Data packs a NEW world starts with, comma separated. Experimental feature packs must be listed here to be on. Added in 1.19.3.
initial-disabled-packs	(empty)	Data packs a NEW world does not turn on automatically, comma separated. Added in 1.19.3.
resource-pack	(empty)	A direct download link to a .zip players are offered on join.
resource-pack-sha1	(empty)	The SHA-1 hash of the .zip, lowercase hex. Lets players reuse a cached copy and catches a wrong download.
require-resource-pack	false	Players who decline the pack are disconnected. Added in 1.17.
resource-pack-prompt	(empty)	A custom message on the download prompt, as a JSON text component. Added in 1.17.
resource-pack-id	(empty)	A UUID that names the pack, so players keep one cached copy across URL changes. Left empty, it is made from the URL. Added in 1.20.3.

Network and remote access

Key	Default	What it does
server-port	25565	The port players connect to. Forward it on your router if you host from home.
server-ip	(empty)	Listen on one IP address only. Leave it empty unless you know you need it.
enable-status	true	When off, the server shows as offline in the multiplayer list but players can still join.
enable-query	false	Answers GameSpy4 query requests (player lists for server sites and bots).
query.port	25565	The UDP port for query.
enable-rcon	false	Remote console: run commands from another program. It is not encrypted, so never open its port to the internet.
rcon.port	25575	The TCP port for RCON.
rcon.password	(empty)	RCON does not start without one.

Management server

Key	Default	What it does
status-heartbeat-interval	0	How often the management server sends connected tools a status notification. 0 sends none. Added in 1.21.9.
management-server-enabled	false	Starts the server management protocol (JSON-RPC over WebSocket) for remote admin tools. Added in 1.21.9.
management-server-host	localhost	The address it listens on. Keep localhost unless a tool on another machine needs it. Added in 1.21.9.
management-server-port	0	Its port. 0 picks a free port each time the server starts. Added in 1.21.9.
management-server-secret	random	The token tools sign in with: exactly 40 letters and digits. Left out, the server makes a random one and writes it to the file. Any other value stops the server starting while the management server is on. Added in 1.21.9.
management-server-tls-enabled	true	Encrypts the connection. The server will not start with TLS on and no keystore. Added in 1.21.9.
management-server-tls-keystore	(empty)	Path to a PKCS12 keystore with the TLS certificate. Added in 1.21.9.
management-server-tls-keystore-password	(empty)	The keystore's password. The environment variable MINECRAFT_MANAGEMENT_TLS_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD wins over this if set. Added in 1.21.9.
management-server-allowed-origins	(empty)	Web pages allowed to sign in from a browser, comma separated. Empty blocks browser sign-in. Added in 1.21.11.

How to use the Server.properties Generator

Every setting in a Java server's server.properties, with what it does and the default its own version writes, read from each version's real server. Settings added, removed or moved to game rules follow the version you pick.

Quick steps

1Pick your server's version at the top
2Open your current server.properties, or start from a preset
3Change what you need; search finds a setting by name
4Download the file, or copy it, and put it in your server folder

Example use cases

Setting up a new server without guessing what each key does
Moving a server to a new version and seeing which settings changed or became game rules
A whitelisted server for friends, or a lighter one for a small machine

Tips

Stop the server before you edit the file: it overwrites it when it starts

Seed, world type and structures only matter when the world is first made

Never open the RCON port to the internet: it is not encrypted

Copy the link to share your settings; it opens with the same changes

Frequently asked questions

Where is server.properties?

In the server folder, next to the server .jar. The server writes it the first time it starts. Edit it while the server is stopped: the server reads it once at startup.

What are the default server.properties settings?

This page lists every key with the default the 26.3 server writes itself: for example max-players=20, view-distance=10, difficulty=easy and white-list=true. Pick another version to see its own defaults.

Why is pvp missing from my server.properties?

In 1.21.9, allow-nether, spawn-monsters, enable-command-block and pvp were removed from server.properties and became game rules, so they can be changed while the server runs. Set them with /gamerule. Import an older file here and the tool shows the game rule to use for each one.

How do I make a server whitelist only?

Turn on white-list (and enforce-whitelist to kick anyone already online who is not on it), then add players with /whitelist add <name>. From 26.3 a new server starts with the whitelist on.

Do I need the whole file?

No. Choose "Only my changes" for a short file: when the server starts it adds every missing key with its default.

What does online-mode=false do?

The server stops checking players with Mojang, so anyone can join under any name, including an operator's. Only turn it off behind a proxy such as Velocity or BungeeCord that checks accounts itself.

Does this work for a Bedrock Dedicated Server?

No. Bedrock Dedicated Server's file is also called server.properties, but its settings are different (server-name, allow-cheats, tick-distance and server-port 19132, for example). This generator writes the Java Edition file.

Related tools

MOTD Generator

Two-line colored server MOTD for server.properties.

Server Status Checker

Is a Java or Bedrock server online? Players, version, MOTD and icon.

Level.dat Editor

Edit level.dat world settings, all of them on worlds up to 1.21.8.